Translator’s Note
- Translator’s Note
Abdourahman waberi’s poems, like his novels, stories, and essays, carry the important message of religious tolerance. Muslim by birth, Dr. Waberi, in Passage of Tears, documents the life of Walter Benjamin, the German Jewish essayist, translator, philosopher, and literary critic who committed suicide, in 1940, while trying to evade capture by the Nazis. In keeping with Dr. Waberi’s respect for other religions that preach tolerance, “Rosary for Timbuktu” is a prayer from the Roman Catholic tradition, consisting of six poems dedicated to the treasures of Timbuktu, which Islamic extremists began destroying in 2012.
Before translating the poem, I prepared a “sound map” of the complete original text (assonance and alliteration) to get a sense of the poem’s rich texture of sounds. French, by nature, tends to be very melodious, with repetitious vowels singing, even in everyday speech. My challenge was to maintain a close relationship to the literal meaning, while still honoring the music of the text. Many French vowel sounds do not exist in English (e.g., the nasal vowels, as well as the crispness of certain vowels), so I was pleased to replicate the repetition of vowel sounds and approximate the exact French sound i in the example below, taken from the first section of “Rosary for Timbuktu.”
| dans le bruit et la germination du temps | in the rustling and budding of time |
| je n’ai rien à moi—sauf la crainte de Dieu | I have nothing that’s mine—except the fear of God |
| c’est Dieu qui pourvoit à la vie | God is the one who provides for the life |
| qu’Il m’a donnée | He gave me |
| jusqu’à mon heure ultime | until the ultimate hour |
| où il ne fera point nuit | when night will cease to be |
I consulted frequently with Dr. Waberi as I translated this poem and others from The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper. We spent many hours reviewing my questions and ensuring my attention to the music of his words and lines did not sacrifice his intended meaning. [End Page 143]
- Tours de chapelet pour Tombouctou
une petite amphore remplie d’eau pour les ablutions rituelles
dans le creux d’une vallée aride dans la joie du jour commençant
dans le bruit et la germination du temps je n’ai rien à moi—sauf la crainte de Dieu
c’est Dieu qui pourvoit à la vie qu’Il m’a donnée jusqu’à mon heure ultime où il ne fera point nuit
*
comme un papillon de nuit qui se jette avec joie sur la flamme
là où les étoiles brillent qu’en diagonale de nous
*
Allah Al-lah A----llah les deux syllabes répétées à l’envi un nom ouvreur de vies
Allah Al-lah [End Page 144] A----llah sortir la tête du sommeil est une corvée si l’âme ne quête pas la lumière et les guerres à l’intérieur de soi
*
Arif le connaissant la grandeur est sa cape l’immensité sa soif une graine de moutarde son orgueil
*
de Cheikna on a retenu la leçon il a dit abaisse-toi et tu ressembleras à la pleine lune dont les gens ne voient que le reflet dans l’eau
ne soit pas arrogant comme la fumée qui s’élève dans le ciel alors qu’elle n’est qu’un produit de la terre
*
le chien de mon for intérieur est là couché devant le chenil de la vie nu tel le nourrisson qui attend tout de nous [End Page 146]
abdourahman waberi is a prize-winning writer from Djibouti whose work has been translated into a multitude of languages. His poem herein is from his poetry collection The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper, translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson, forthcoming from Seagull Books this year. He is an assistant professor of Francophone literature at the George Washington University.
- Rosary for Timbuktu
a small amphora full of water for...
